May 17, 2010: The USA Bid Committee, which is spear heading the move to bring either the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup to the United States, said that former President Bill Clinton has accepted an invitation to become Honorary Chairman.

In his role, President Clinton will work with such USA Bid Committee members as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, actor-comic Drew Carey, former boxing champ Oscar De La Hoya, Walt Disney Co. president and CEO Robert Iger, former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Henry Kissinger, director-actor Spike Lee and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

President Clinton will be involved in promoting the USA bid’s cause in the months leading to the final decision in December. His new role with the USA Bid Committee was on May 17 at a news conference at the FC Harlem soccer facility in New York.

The arrival of President Clinton comes less than a week after the U.S. submitted its official bid book to FIFA in a formal ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland. Australia, England, Russia, Netherlands-Belgium and Portugal-Spain have each submitted bids for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments; Japan, Qatar and South Korea have only applied to host the tournament in 2022.

FIFA’s 24-member Executive Committee will study the bids, conduct site visits and name the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments on Dec. 2, 2010, completing a 21-month bid and review process.

The U.S. wants to host the FIFA World Cup either four or eight years after Brazil.“In my travels around the world – from the dirt fields of Lusaka, Zambia, to playgrounds in schools across America – I’ve seen the transformative power soccer has to bring people together and transform lives on and off the field,” President Clinton said during the press conference. “I continue to be impressed with FIFA’s work to promote the game as an agent for positive social change, and I’m proud to represent the United States in our bid to bring the World Cup tournament back to American soil, allowing us to inspire action and cooperation on an even greater scale.”

This past October, the USA Bid Committee released an independent study that estimates a conservative domestic economic impact of five billion dollars if the United States is chosen to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022. The findings indicate that the total economic impact projected for any one host city ranges from approximately $400 million to $600 million at today’s dollar value.